TWI671717B - Driving alarm method and driving alarm system - Google Patents

Abstract

A traffic warning method is used for a traffic warning system. This traffic warning system includes a detection device and a warning device arranged on the vehicle. The driving warning method includes the following steps: detecting object information of an external object through a detection device ; determining a warning threshold value according to the object information; and performing a warning operation through the warning device if an external object enters the warning area. The disclosure also provides a traffic warning system.

Description

Driving warning method and driving warning system

This disclosure relates to a driving warning method and a driving warning system.

In the current traffic warning system, when the traffic warning system detects that there are obstacles around it, it will immediately alert the user. In order to ensure driving safety, the warning area between the vehicle and external objects is generally set to be a fixed and large area, which is suitable for any driving situation. However, in the process of driving, when a distant foreign object enters the warning area and issues a warning operation, since the distant foreign object is far away, the threat caused by the distant external object is actually very low, but it causes unnecessary warning. Operation has increased user's distress. Therefore, how to provide a flexible and appropriate warning operation is a subject that is devoted by those skilled in the art.

The disclosure provides a driving warning method and a driving warning system, which can dynamically change the warning area based on different driving conditions, and provide flexible and appropriate warning operations.

In the driving warning method provided by an embodiment of the disclosure, this driving warning method is applicable to a driving warning system. This traffic warning system includes a detection device and a warning device arranged on the vehicle . This vehicle warning method includes the steps of detecting object information of external objects through at least one detection device; determining a warning threshold value according to the object information, wherein the warning threshold value is used to determine a range of a warning area in front of the vehicle; , Perform the warning operation through the warning device.

The driving warning system provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a detection device, a warning device and a processor. The detection device is installed in the vehicle. The processor is connected to the detection device and the warning device. The processor detects object information of external objects through a detection device, and determines a warning threshold value according to the object information, wherein the warning threshold value is used to determine a range of a warning area in front of the vehicle. If an external object enters the warning area, the processor performs a warning operation via a warning device.

Based on the above, the driving warning method and the driving warning system disclosed in the present disclosure detect object information of external objects to determine a warning area according to the object information. This provides a flexible and appropriate warning operation.

In order to make the above-mentioned features and advantages of the present disclosure more comprehensible, embodiments are described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Please refer to FIG. 1, which is a schematic diagram of a traffic warning system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The traffic warning system 100 continuously detects obstacles around the user during the driving process, and provides a warning operation when the user has obstacles in the driving lane.

The traffic warning system 100 includes a detection device 110, a warning device 120, and a processor 130. The detection device 110 may be disposed on a vehicle to detect obstacles in the vicinity of the vehicle. The vehicle may be various types of vehicles, such as a bicycle, a locomotive, or a car. In this embodiment, the detection device 110 is implemented by the first camera 112 and the second camera 114, and the detection device 110 is disposed in front of the vehicle to detect an obstacle in front of the vehicle (also referred to as an external device). object). In other embodiments, the detection device 110 may also be an infrared sensor or other devices capable of detecting obstacles, and the disclosure is not limited thereto.

The warning device 120 is configured to execute a warning operation when an external object enters the warning area to send a warning message to a user. The warning device 120 may be an in-vehicle dashboard, a navigation device, a user's mobile phone, and the like, and performs various warning operations according to the type of the warning device 120 to issue corresponding warning messages. For example, when the warning device 120 is an in-vehicle dashboard, the warning message may be a text prompt, a light flashing prompt, a color change prompt, or a sound prompt. When the warning device 120 is a navigation device, the warning message may be a text prompt, a sound prompt, or the like. Alternatively, the warning message may also be a type of reminder such as seat vibration, steering wheel vibration, and the like, as long as the method of notifying the user can be issued, it can be applied in this disclosure.

The processor 130 is coupled to the detection device 110 and the warning device 120 to control the overall operation of the traffic warning system 100. In this embodiment, the processor 130 is, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), or other programmable microprocessor (Microprocessor), digital signal processor (DSP), or programmable Controllers, Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs), or other hardware devices with computing capabilities, but this disclosure is not limited to this.

The present disclosure discloses and sets a memory 140. The memory 140 is coupled to the detection device 110, the warning device 120, and the processor 130 to store data, codes, images, and the like that may be used in the operation of various traffic warning systems 100. In this embodiment, the memory 140 is, for example, a Random Access Memory (RAM), a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Flash Memory, or a magnetic disk storage device. (Magnetic disk storage device), etc., but the invention is not limited to this. Alternatively, the external storage unit may also be a Compact Flash (CF) memory card, a Secure Digital (SD) memory card, a Micro SD memory card, or a Memory Stick (MS). Etc., but this disclosure is not limited to this.

When the traffic warning system detects that an obstacle has entered the warning area, the traffic warning system will immediately issue a warning message to alert the user. In order to ensure driving safety, the warning area between the vehicle and external objects is generally set as a fixed and large area, which is suitable for any driving situation. However, in the actual driving process, when an external object is far away from the vehicle, even if the external object enters the warning area, the threat of the external object to the vehicle is actually very low. However, since external objects have entered the warning area, the traffic warning system will still issue warning messages against distant external objects. Or, when the vehicle is moving slowly, the allowable distance between the vehicle and an external object may be relatively short. Therefore, when an external object first enters the warning area, the threat to the vehicle is actually very low. However, the traffic warning system will still issue a warning message for this external object, increasing the user's distress. For this reason, the present disclosure provides a traffic warning system. The traffic warning system can dynamically change the warning threshold value and the warning area to provide flexible and appropriate warning operations.

Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 at the same time. FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a method for warning a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. When the traffic warning system 100 is running, the traffic warning system 100 will continuously detect whether there is an external object in the picture.

In step S210, the processor 130 detects object information of an external object via the detection device 110. The external objects are, for example, vehicles near the vehicle (for example, ahead), street lights, obstacles on the road, etc., which may hinder the safety of the vehicle. The object information is, for example, speed information of the external object, position information of the external object, distance information of the external object and the vehicle, information on the relative speed of the external object and the vehicle, and information on the relative movement direction of the vehicle and the external object. This disclosure is not limited to this. For example, the processor 130 may analyze the road image captured by the detection device 110, and may obtain object information of the external object according to changes in the contour and / or depth information of the external object in the road image.

In step S220, after the processor obtains the object information of the external object, the processor 130 determines a warning threshold value according to the object information, and the warning threshold value is used to determine the range of the warning area in front of the vehicle. Here, the warning area refers to the area that needs to be warned when an obstacle enters in front of the lane. In one embodiment, the warning threshold value is adjusted according to the relative relationship between the external object and the vehicle, and the warning area is also changed according to the warning threshold value.

Specifically, please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 at the same time. FIG. 3 shows a first schematic diagram of a road image in an embodiment of the present disclosure. The processor 130 may set virtual marking lines 20 a and 20 b in the road image. The virtual graticules 20a, 20b may or may not be displayed in the road image. In one embodiment, the virtual marking lines 20a and 20b can be adjusted according to the width of the body of the vehicle. For example, if the body of the host vehicle is wider, the virtual marking lines 20a and 20b can be expanded outward. Alternatively, if the body of the host vehicle is narrow, the virtual marking lines 20a, 20b may be retracted.

In one embodiment, the warning range A can be set by the virtual marking lines 20a, 20b and the warning threshold value. For example, on column 301, when the warning threshold value is D1, the processor 130 retracts the warning threshold value D1 to the right and left from the virtual marking lines 20a and 20b, respectively, to obtain the warning corresponding to column 301. region. As another example, when the warning threshold value is D2 on the column 302, the processor 130 retracts the warning threshold value D2 to the right and left respectively from the virtual marking lines 20a and 20b to obtain the warning area corresponding to the column 302. . By analogy, each column in the road image can correspond to a warning threshold value, and a corresponding warning area can be formed according to the warning threshold value. In addition, the warning areas on multiple columns in the road image may form the entire warning area A.

In one embodiment, the warning area A spans multiple columns in the road image, and the warning threshold corresponding to a certain column will affect the coordinate range (also known as the target column) of the warning area A (also called the target column). Is the column coordinate range). The processor 130 determines a warning threshold value corresponding to the target row and at least a part of the warning area A according to the detected object information.

For example, if a vehicle 30 in the road image is detected at a certain point in time and the vehicle 30 is located on the column 301, the processor 130 may determine the warning threshold D1 and the warning area A according to the object information of the vehicle 30, as shown in the figure. 3 shown. For example, the processor 130 may analyze the speed of the vehicle 30, the position of the vehicle 30, the distance between the vehicle 30 and the own vehicle, the relative speed of the vehicle 30 and the own vehicle, and / or The relative moving direction of the host vehicle and the vehicle 30, etc., and the warning threshold value D1 is determined based on the analysis result. In addition, as the warning threshold value D1 is determined, the warning threshold value D2 corresponding to the column 302 may also be determined. In one embodiment, the warning threshold value D2 is smaller than the warning threshold value D1. For example, the processor 130 may bring the warning threshold value D1 into an algorithm to obtain the warning threshold value D2 corresponding to the column 302.

Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 4. FIG. 4 illustrates a second schematic diagram of a road image in an embodiment of the present disclosure. In an embodiment, assuming that the vehicle 40 is detected at another time point and the vehicle 40 is located on the column 301, the processor 130 may determine the warning threshold D3 and the warning area A according to the object information of the vehicle 40, as shown in FIG. 4 Show. It should be noted that the object information of the vehicle 40 is different from the object information of the vehicle 30 in FIG. 3. For example, the processor 130 may analyze the speed of the vehicle 40, the position of the vehicle 40, the distance between the vehicle 40 and the own vehicle, the relative speed of the vehicle 40 and the own vehicle, and / or The relative movement direction of the host vehicle and the vehicle 40, etc., and the warning threshold value D3 is determined based on the analysis result. In addition, as the warning threshold value D3 is determined, the warning threshold value D4 corresponding to the column 302 may also be determined. In one embodiment, the warning threshold value D4 is smaller than the warning threshold value D3. For example, the processor 130 may bring the warning threshold value D3 into an algorithm to obtain the warning threshold value D4 corresponding to the column 302.

In one embodiment, the processor 130 determines the warning threshold corresponding to the target row according to the object information of the external objects in the road image. For example, in the embodiments of FIGS. 3 and 4, the target column is a column 301. In an embodiment, the target column refers to a column in which external objects are located in the road image. In addition, in one embodiment, any column spanned by the warning area A may be a target column.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the object information corresponding to the external objects detected at different points in time is different, and corresponds to the warning threshold value and The warning area A may be changed dynamically and automatically. In the embodiments of FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, because the object information of the external object is different, the range of the warning area A in the road image will change accordingly.

In an embodiment, if the external object moves in a direction away from the vehicle, the warning threshold value corresponding to the target row is positively related to the moving speed and / or acceleration of the external object. That is, on the premise that the external object is moving away from the vehicle, if the moving speed and / or acceleration of the external object accelerates, the warning threshold corresponding to the target row will increase; if the moving speed and / Or the acceleration slows down, the warning threshold corresponding to the target column will decrease.

In one embodiment, if the external object moves in a direction close to the vehicle, the warning threshold value corresponding to the target row is negatively related to the moving speed and / or acceleration of the external object. That is, on the premise that the external object is moving in a direction closer to the vehicle, if the moving speed and / or acceleration of the external object is accelerated, the warning threshold corresponding to the target row will be reduced; if the moving speed and / Or the acceleration slows down, the warning threshold corresponding to the target column will increase.

Taking FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 as examples, on the premise that the vehicles 30 and 40 are moving away from the vehicle, since the moving speed (or acceleration) of the vehicle 30 is lower than the moving speed (or acceleration) of the vehicle 40, The warning threshold D1 will be smaller than the warning threshold D3. Or, on the premise that both vehicles 30 and 40 are moving in a direction close to the own vehicle, since the moving speed (or acceleration) of vehicle 30 is higher than the moving speed (or acceleration) of vehicle 40, the warning threshold D1 will be smaller than the warning Threshold D3.

In one embodiment of FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the distance measurement reference in the road image is the coordinate distance. The warning thresholds D1 ~ D4 will correspond to different critical coordinate distances in the road image. In an embodiment, the critical coordinate distance corresponding to the warning threshold D1 (or D2) may be referred to as a first critical coordinate distance, and the critical coordinate distance corresponding to the warning threshold D3 (or D4) may be referred to as a second critical Coordinate distance. For example, the first critical coordinate distance corresponding to the warning threshold D1 (or D2) is different from (for example, less than) the second critical coordinate distance corresponding to the warning threshold D3 (or D4). In addition, the critical coordinate distance corresponding to the warning threshold D1 will be greater than the critical coordinate distance corresponding to the warning threshold D2, and the critical coordinate distance corresponding to the warning threshold D3 will be greater than the critical coordinate distance corresponding to the warning threshold D4.

After determining the warning threshold and the range of the warning area, if an external object enters the warning area, the processor 130 will control the warning device 120 to send a warning message. Specifically, please refer to FIG. 1, FIG. 2, and FIG. 5. FIG. 5 illustrates a third schematic diagram of a road image according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In step S230, the processor 130 obtains a road image and a road image in front of the vehicle to an external object corresponding to an object point coordinate (x _1, y ₁₎ via the detection apparatus 110. It should be noted that, in this embodiment, the sampling of the coordinate point (x ₁ , y ₁ ) of the object is based on the coordinate point of the external object closest to the vehicle. For example, if a certain vehicle is on the left (front) side of the own vehicle, the object coordinate point (x ₁ , y ₁ ) may be the coordinates of the right side of the vehicle or the right rear wheel. Alternatively, if the vehicle is to the right (front) of the own vehicle, the object coordinate points (x ₁ , y ₁ ) may be the coordinates of the left or left rear wheel of the vehicle. However, the sampling of the object coordinate points (x ₁ , y ₁ ) will be different according to the actual design, and the disclosure is not limited to this.

Next, in step S240, the processor 130 determines whether the object coordinate point (x ₁ , y ₁ ) belongs to a preset coordinate range. In detail, the preset coordinate range referred to here is the coordinate range of the virtual graticule lines 20a and 20b in the image, that is, the coordinate range corresponding to the range surrounded by the graticule lines 20a and 20b. The processor 130 determines whether the external object 40 belongs to the preset coordinate range to determine whether the vehicle 40 has entered the area surrounded by the virtual marking lines 20a and 20b.

If the object coordinate point (x ₁ , y ₁ ) belongs to this preset coordinate range, it means that the vehicle 40 has entered the area surrounded by the virtual marks 20a, 20b, the processor 130 will further determine the object coordinate point (x ₁ , y ₁ ) whether the coordinate distance between the preset coordinate point (x ₂ , y ₂ ) exceeds the critical coordinate distance corresponding to the warning threshold value D5. As shown in FIG. 5, the preset coordinate points (x ₂ , y ₂ ) are the coordinates of the virtual coordinate line 20a on the column 301, and the object coordinate points (x ₁ , y ₁ ) are also the coordinates on the column 301. That is, the y-axis coordinate y _{1 of the} object coordinate point (x ₁ , y ₁ ) should be the same as the y-axis coordinate y _{2 of the} preset coordinate point (x ₂ , y ₂ ) (that is, y ₁ = y ₂ ), and The coordinate distance compared by the processor 130 is the column direction coordinate distance of the target column (ie, the column 301).

The processor 130 may determine whether the difference between x ₁ and x ₂ is equal to or greater than a critical coordinate distance corresponding to the warning critical value D5. If the difference between x ₁ and x ₂ is equal to or greater than the critical coordinate distance corresponding to the warning critical value D5, then in step S250, the processor 130 may determine that an external object (such as a vehicle) has entered the warning area A and passed the warning device 120 performs a warning operation. Conversely, if the difference between x ₁ and x ₂ is still smaller than the critical coordinate distance corresponding to the warning threshold value D5, it means that the vehicle 40 has not entered the warning area A, so the processor 130 may repeat steps S210 to S240.

It should be noted that the processor 130 may also determine whether an external object has entered the warning area A by other coordinate point comparison methods, which is not limited in the present invention. For example, in one embodiment, after obtaining the warning area A, the processor 130 may establish all the coordinate points covered by the warning area A. If the object coordinate point (x ₁ , y ₁ ) is located within the coordinate point covered by the warning area A, the processor 130 may determine that an external object has entered the warning area A.

To sum up, the driving warning method and the driving warning system disclosed in the present disclosure will detect the object information of the external objects, based on the object information, such as the distance information between the vehicle and the external object, and the relative speed between the vehicle and the external object. Information, and information about the direction of movement of the vehicle relative to external objects, etc., and dynamically adjust the range of the warning area in the road image. This provides a flexible and appropriate warning operation.

Although the present disclosure has been disclosed above by way of example, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Any person with ordinary knowledge in the technical field can make some modifications and retouching without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The scope of protection of this disclosure shall be determined by the scope of the attached patent application.

20a, 20b: virtual markings 30, 40: external objects 100: traffic warning system 110: detection device 112: first camera 114: second camera 120: warning device 130: processor 140: memory 301, 302: column A: Warning areas D1, D2, D3, D4, D5: Warning thresholds S210 ~ S250: Steps to implement the traffic warning method

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a traffic warning system according to an embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a method for warning a vehicle according to an embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 3 is a first schematic diagram of a road image according to an embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 4 is a second schematic diagram of a road image according to an embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 5 is a third schematic diagram of a road image according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Claims (12)

A traffic warning method is used for a traffic warning system. The traffic warning system includes at least one detection device and a warning device disposed on a vehicle. The traffic warning method includes detecting an external object through the at least one detection device. Based on the object information; determining a warning threshold value, wherein the warning threshold value is used to determine the range of a warning area in front of the vehicle; obtaining a road image in front of the vehicle and the road through the at least one detection device An object coordinate point in the image corresponding to the external object; if the object coordinate point belongs to a preset coordinate range and a coordinate distance between the object coordinate point and a preset coordinate point exceeds a corresponding value of the warning threshold value The critical coordinate distance determines that the external object enters the warning area; and if the external object enters the warning area, performs a warning operation via the warning device. The driving warning method according to item 1 of the scope of patent application, wherein the object information includes distance information between the vehicle and the external object, relative speed information between the vehicle and the external object, and the vehicle relative to the vehicle. At least one of the moving direction information of an external object. The driving warning method according to item 1 of the scope of the patent application, wherein the object coordinate point and the preset coordinate point are located in a target row in the road image, and the coordinate distance is a direction of the target column. Coordinate distance. The driving warning method according to item 1 of the scope of patent application, further comprising: if the warning critical value is a first value, setting the critical coordinate distance to a first critical coordinate distance; and if the warning critical value is one The second value is to set the critical coordinate distance to a second critical coordinate distance, wherein the first critical coordinate distance is different from the second critical coordinate distance. The driving warning method according to item 1 of the scope of patent application, wherein the warning area spans multiple columns in the road image, and the warning threshold value affects one row of a target column of the warning area among the multiple columns ( column) Coordinate range. The driving warning method according to item 1 of the scope of patent application, wherein the at least one detection device includes two photographic lenses for capturing a road image including the external object. A traffic warning system includes: at least one detection device disposed on a vehicle; a warning device; and a processor connected to the at least one detection device and the warning device, and configured to: pass through the at least one detection device Detecting an object information of an external object; determining a warning threshold value according to the object information, wherein the warning threshold value is used to determine a range of a warning area in front of the vehicle; and obtaining at least one detection device in front of the vehicle through the at least one detection device Road image and an object coordinate point in the road image corresponding to the external object; if the object coordinate point belongs to a preset coordinate range and a coordinate distance between the object coordinate point and a preset coordinate point exceeds the warning threshold A critical coordinate distance corresponding to the value, it is determined that the external object enters the warning area; and if the external object enters the warning area, a warning operation is performed via the warning device. The driving warning system according to item 7 of the scope of patent application, wherein the object information includes distance information between the vehicle and the external object, relative speed information between the vehicle and the external object, and the vehicle relative to the vehicle. At least one of the moving direction information of an external object. According to the driving warning system described in item 7 of the scope of patent application, wherein the object coordinate point and the preset coordinate point are both located in a target row in the road image, and the coordinate distance is a direction coordinate distance of the target row. The driving warning system according to item 7 of the scope of patent application, wherein if the warning threshold value is a first value, the processor is further configured to set the critical coordinate distance to a first critical coordinate distance, and if the warning indicator is The critical value is a second value, and the processor is further configured to set the critical coordinate distance to a second critical coordinate distance, wherein the first critical coordinate distance is different from the second critical coordinate distance. The traffic warning system according to item 7 of the scope of patent application, wherein the warning area spans multiple columns in the road image, and the warning threshold value affects a row of a target column of the warning area among the multiple columns range. The driving warning system according to item 7 of the scope of patent application, wherein the at least one detection device includes two photographic lenses for capturing a road image including the external object.